brands and friends®

What brands and friends® does

brands and friends® GmbH is a full-service marketing agency headquartered in Coesfeld, Münsterland, Germany, founded in 1997 and operating as a private GmbH under CEO Jochen Hollemann. The firm specializes in marketing services for the German healthcare sector (Heilberufe) — primarily physicians, dentists, and veterinary practices — while also serving a smaller base of industrial, manufacturing, tax advisory, trade, and municipal clients. Its service portfolio spans twelve named lines covering strategy and business consulting, brand development and brand management, digital marketing (SEO/SEA and social advertising), tiered website development (OnePager, Classic, Individual), print and analog media, healthcare-specific marketing, social media management, employer branding and recruiting, and video production including drone footage.

The agency's technology stack is conventional for a regional creative agency: WordPress/CMS-based web development, standard SEO/SEM and social-media management tools, professional video production equipment including drones and gimbals, and standard design software. Marketing-technology integrations include Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, Facebook Conversion API, and Facebook Custom Audiences. Operational tooling comprises Zoom for client consultations, Calendly for scheduling, WhatsApp Business for client communication, Vimeo for video hosting, and Borlabs Cookie for GDPR-compliant consent management. No proprietary software platform or API exists; service delivery is manual, human-led, and produced in-house by the firm's specialists.

brands and friends operates as a professional services firm on project-based and retainer pricing, with all initial consultations offered free of charge. Distribution is direct, primarily through online consultation bookings, website inquiries, the firm's Brandblog video content series, and referrals through the Heilberufe Plus expert network. The agency holds two material government certifications — NRW 'Potentialberatung' (state SME consulting subsidy) and the federal 'go-digital' program (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft) — that allow it to deliver partially subsidized consulting to eligible clients. With approximately 11–17 employees depending on the source page consulted, the firm remains a small, founder-led operation with no funding rounds, no M&A activity, and a single domestic office.

Name

brands and friends®

Legal name

brands and friends GmbH

Website

https://brands-and-friends.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

brands and friends® is a German full-service marketing agency founded in 1997, specializing in healthcare-sector clients (physicians, dentists, veterinarians) with brand strategy, digital marketing, web development, employer branding, recruiting, and video production services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAFAEAJ

Brand Consulting, Audits & Research (Brand Health, Equity, Competitive)

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Brand Strategy & Creative Services

SECONDARYBPAFAEAF

Brand Guidelines, Governance & Brand Management

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Brand Strategy & Creative Services

Keywords

• Healthcare marketing services
• Brand development agency
• Practice marketing consulting
• Digital marketing agency
• Employer branding services

Headquarters

HQ city

Coesfeld

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Services and Consulting: Revenue generated through consulting engagements, project-based work, and ongoing marketing management services. Includes strategy consulting, brand development, digital marketing services, web development, social media management, and video production. Services are priced project-by-project or through retainer arrangements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

brands and friends® is a full-service marketing agency that delivers strategic consulting, brand development, digital marketing, website development, media production, and employer branding services. The agency specializes in marketing for healthcare professionals (physicians, dentists, and other Heilberufler) while also serving industrial, trade, tax advisory, and municipal clients across Germany. Services are delivered on a project or retainer basis, anchored by free initial consultations covering strategy, branding, and marketing opportunities.

Product overview

brands and friends® is a full-service marketing agency from Coesfeld, Münsterland, Germany, founded in 1997. The agency operates as a unified service portfolio rather than a software platform, offering strategic consulting, brand development, digital marketing, web development, media production, and recruitment services. Their core offerings include Strategie & Unternehmensberatung (strategy and business consulting), Markenaufbau (brand building), Markenführung (brand management), Digitalmarketing (SEO, SEA, social media advertising), Webentwicklung (website development with OnePager/Classic/Individual tiers), Medienentwicklung (print and analog media), Marketing für Ärzte (healthcare-specific marketing), Social Media Management, Recruiting, Videoproduktion, and Employer Marketing. The agency specializes in the healthcare sector (Heilberufe) while also serving industry, tax consulting, and municipal clients. Services are delivered through Online-Beratung modules for consultations and include the Brandblog video content series as educational resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Heilberufe Plus®: Interdisciplinary expert network for healthcare professionals, providing access to tax advisors, legal experts, IT, and practice equipment specialists.

Products and services

• Strategie & Unternehmensberatung (Strategy & Business Consulting)

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully placed recruitment campaigns for dental practices resulting in complete team hires within 4 weeks

Named customers15 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Heilberufe Plus (Heilberufe+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterdisciplinary expert network for healthcare professionals that brands and friends® is a member of. Provides access to specialists in tax advisory, legal services, IT, and practice equipment, enabling comprehensive support for healthcare practice clients beyond pure marketing services.
• Land Nordrhein-Westfalen (Potentialberatung)supportingOthersCertified consultant status for the NRW state 'Potentialberatung' subsidy program for SME strengthening. Allows the agency to offer subsidized consulting services to eligible clients in areas of employee recruitment and qualification.
• Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft (go digital)supportingOthersCertified 'go digital' consultant authorized by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs in the area of digital market development. Enables provision of subsidized digital consulting services to eligible businesses.
• ZoomsupportingTechnology or IntegrationVideo conferencing platform used for online client consultations and meetings. Enables the agency's online consultation offerings for both healthcare and business clients.
• CalendlysupportingTechnology or IntegrationAppointment scheduling tool used for booking online consultation sessions. Integrates with the agency's online booking process for both doctor and business consultation services.
• WhatsApp (WhatsApp Business)supportingTechnology or IntegrationInstant messaging platform used for client communication. WhatsApp Business version used for direct communication with customers and recruitment inquiries.
• Borlabs CookiesupportingTechnology or IntegrationGDPR-compliant cookie consent management plugin used on the company website for compliance with German and EU data protection regulations.
• Social Media Platforms (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, XING, LinkedIn)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media platforms used for client service delivery and marketing. Core channels for social media management services offered to clients, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, XING, and LinkedIn.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• denkwerk: Cologne-based German digital agency providing brand strategy, web development, digital marketing, and SEO services. Overlaps significantly with brands and friends' digital and web development capabilities for B2B and B2C clients.
• Jung von Matt: Top-tier German creative agency offering brand strategy, digital marketing, and content services across verticals. While not healthcare-specialized, serves similar SMB and enterprise clients with comparable service offerings.
• Kolle Rebbe: Hamburg-based German creative agency offering brand strategy, corporate design, and integrated marketing communications. Comparable in delivering brand-building and full-service marketing for German mid-market clients.
• Serviceplan Health & Life: Healthcare marketing division of Serviceplan Group, Germany's largest independent agency network. Offers healthcare brand strategy and full-service marketing at a much larger scale, overlapping with brands and friends' core service portfolio.
• thjnk: German agency group with offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Stuttgart offering brand strategy, digital marketing, and creative services. Comparable as a full-service German marketing agency serving SMB and enterprise clients.

Direct peers

• DocCheck Media: Healthcare marketing and content platform of DocCheck, serving healthcare professionals and pharma clients across German-speaking markets. Comparable as healthcare-specialized marketing services provider with similar target buyers.
• Scholz & Friends Health: Specialized healthcare marketing arm of Scholz & Friends, a major German creative agency group. Directly comparable as a German agency offering healthcare-focused brand strategy, creative, and digital marketing services to pharma and medical clients.
• Sanvartis: German healthcare communications and patient engagement agency serving pharma, medical practices, and healthcare providers. Directly comparable in healthcare-specialized marketing services across Germany with similar buyer segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/brandsandfriendsgmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/brandsandfriendsgmbh
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ps-werbung-gmbh

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about brands and friends®